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Geography · 05 / 06

Sustainable development: actors and trade-offs

High school · intermediate · Worked example and 4 exercises with solutions, at your pace.

Need a foundation?Maps and scale: what a map showsRead a map: legend, scale and choices
UnderstandSee an exampleGuided exercise3 progressive challenges

The principle, simply

Sustainable development considers present needs and future possibilities across social, economic and environmental dimensions. Transitions change production, consumption and territorial organisation. Compare actors, costs, benefits, time and scale; examine real effects and limitations of green claims.

THE PICTURE TO REMEMBERSustainable development: actors and trade-offs
  1. 01Need
  2. 02Actors and effects
  3. 03Scale and time
  4. 04Reasoned trade-off

WORKED EXAMPLE

From principle to reasoning

Public transport may reduce some car trips but requires construction resources and may be unevenly accessible. Compare use, emissions, finance and access in a defined area and period.

Solve a problem in this subject

  1. Choose scale

    Locate the area and compare local, national and global scales; meanings can change with scale.

  2. Read representations

    Check title, legend, unit, date, source and class boundaries. Density and population-count maps answer different questions.

  3. Identify actors and flows

    Connect places, movements, decisions and inequalities with located examples and interpreted data.

  4. Build a synthesis

    Organise a legend by ideas, then select area, line and point symbols. A sketch explains spatial organisation.

YOUR TURN

01 · Try before checking

Why can local benefit displace impact elsewhere?

One hint

Inspect resources and production chains.

Reveal and understand the solution

Extraction, production or waste handling may occur outside the area. Include displaced impacts and measurement conditions.

Compare method, conditions and answer; identify the exact part to revisit.

IMPROVE THROUGH PRACTICE

Three additional challenges with solutions

Start with the first challenge. Write your method before opening a hint; use the solution to find the first step that needs work.

Reflect after practising
02 · Recognise and understandLink to this exercise

A project lowers CO₂ but destroys habitat. Is one indicator enough to call it sustainable?

A hint to get started

Compare multiple dimensions and effects.

Step-by-step solution
  1. Lower CO₂ is a specific benefit.
  2. Also assess biodiversity, resources and social impacts.
  3. One favourable measure is insufficient for an overall judgement.

Which step did you miss? Retry without help, then explain why the method works.

03 · Apply the methodLink to this exercise

Suggest criteria for comparing school transport options.

A hint to get started

Consider trip impacts, cost and accessibility.

Step-by-step solution
  1. Compare emissions and energy per pupil.
  2. Assess cost, time and access across neighbourhoods.
  3. Specify occupancy assumptions and data; empty vehicles change the balance.

Which step did you miss? Retry without help, then explain why the method works.

04 · Go furtherLink to this exercise

How can competing interests around a dam be analysed?

A hint to get started

Identify actors and scales of consequences.

Step-by-step solution
  1. Describe energy generation, water uses and ecological impacts.
  2. Separate collective benefits from costs borne by particular groups.
  3. Compare alternatives and decision conditions rather than a simple for/against split.

Which step did you miss? Retry without help, then explain why the method works.

The trap to avoid

Avoid moral rankings without evidence and actors.

Without notes, can you…

  • Explain the principle in your own words?
  • Rebuild the diagram and its connections?
  • Solve the exercise and justify the method?

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